Conventional electrical testing can provide a comprehensive characterization of critical device parameters. However, the testing cycle time is often too slow for massive semiconductor production. Electron beam inspection (EBI) is a popular in-line defect detection metrology technique which is mostly limited to hard fail defect monitoring. However, it remains uncertain how EBI can be used to characterize critical device properties largely due to fundamental challenges to quantifying the electric responses of semiconductor devices under electron beam (ebeam) exposure.
A need therefore exists for methodology and a device enabling the characterization of critical device properties under ebeam exposure.